Welcome to Wait... Did I Even Read That?
Class Introduction
Most of us can probably recall our favorite books that were assigned readings from our school days. These books were the ones that stuck with us, even into adulthood. They were the stories that inspired us, moved us, entertained us. We still know the characters, the plots, and the fun assignments and class discussions that went along with these novels. Maybe we aced that final test or got an A+ on the book report. We quoted them. We loved them. We remember them.
Buuuut... what about the books our teachers passed out each year that weren't our favorites?
Everyone Has At Least One
Don't think too hard, just go with your gut and name the first title that comes to mind that you absolutely despised in school. Are you ready?
3...2...1... Say it!
I bet that was pretty easy, right? I'm sure whatever title you chose, something about it triggers visceral feelings deep within your soul about a novel so horrible, so boring, so mind-numbingly terrible that... that... well, that maybe you didn't actually read the book at all?
Wait... Did I Even Read That?
With two teachers as parents, I was an academic overachiever. I believed that if I didn't get perfect grades, I would somehow be a huge failure. I did my best to get straight A's on every assignment in every class. This mentality has followed me my entire academic career, first in K-12, then during my undergraduate years, again when I went back to school in my 30s for an associate's degree, and very likely will again if I am successful in being accepted to graduate school in my 40s.
But I will readily admit that sometimes when it came to certain assigned-reading novels, I just sort of half read them. Or maybe I skimmed. Or I looked at the SparkNotes? Okay, okay! Sometimes I just didn't read them at all...
A Blog is Born!
As I thought back to all the assignments I was given and all the books I (maybe) did not read, I felt the time had come to finally do my homework and give these literary "classics" a real chance. During this self-imposed academic challenge, I hope to learn some new things, gain a greater appreciate for these titles, and maybe find a new favorite story along the way! It's also entirely possible that I will walk away from many of these revisited works with a similar opinion from my youth. But no matter what, I will crack those spines and read each book cover to cover.
I've always been of the opinion that it's okay to not like a thing. Just because a novel is a best-selling, award winning title doesn't mean that every reader will connect with it or enjoy it. But before I can truly, honestly say that I don't like the thing, I actually need to read the thing.
Course Structure
The main substance of Wait... Did I Even Read That? will be my selection of a title that was assigned to me in school (4th through 12th grades) that I absolutely [did not] read at the time. I will share the story behind why I never made it through the initial reading, what assignments I had (and possibly failed) for the book, and anything else I can remember of that time in my life. I will read the entire book and present my Belated Book Report, which will briefly cover plot summary, author details, and relevant themes found in the work. And finally, I will share my honest observations and opinions on each book, and I will try to analyze why I did not complete a full reading back in the day.
I'll be honest, I am hypothesizing now that I will probably find some of these old books to be just as difficult and boring to get through now as I found them in the past. So along the way, I may mix things up by selecting a title that I did actually read and loved from school, but that perhaps I may view differently through the lens of adulthood. Will these beloved books still hold up decades later? Or will I wonder what I ever saw in them?
And because life is no fun with only assigned readings, I'll keep the class up-to-date on my current reading list with posts about any books I read just for fun. (Spoiler alert: I read a lot of horror novels!)
You will see tabs at the top of the page to take you to the Assigned Reading or my Extracurricular Fun list so that you can easily find posts on each book. The Assigned Reading page is also where you can learn what the next class novel will be! Visit The Author page so you can get to know me better. And who knows what I may add in the future!
I hope you will join me this semester and together we can tackle some of these old foes! I'm excited to hear your thoughts on the titles I was assigned and perhaps you have a story or two to tell as well. So please register for class (subscribe) and leave a comment for class discussion below.
Happy Reading!